Our word associations seemed somehow (for lack of better word) more poignant; I'm not sure what could be attributed as an explanation. Maybe there's more of an emphasis placed on quantifying one's success based on grades - buildup of their importance - in the US.

Many of the words that we chose seem to display a competitiveness that is not readily apparent in the words that the Russian students chose. I find this interesting because, in some of the Eralash episodes, a student's grade was announced to the entire class, which is very rare in the US, and I feel that having grades announced to the entire class would make students more competitive.

It seems that in Russia grades are more impersonal and thus their answers really reflect the way they are recorded and qualified.  With us, grades have a more personal/emotional connotation, espeically with their implications for our social/economic future.

The American students' answers are definitely very indicative of how grades are perceived as measures of successful character and future career success. It is also very indicative of Brown's alternative and liberal grading structure and system of education.  Based upon the response from Russian students, it seems that grading in Russia has less emotional ties, but I feel like such actual emotional ties could be lost in translation to English.

Grades in Brown seem like more of a journey than a final resting point, a final evaluation -- perhaps because our assessments/papers/midterms are spread out through the course of the entire semester. Even though we have finals, the percentage system of grading translates into a sort of process for us, rather than a final hurdle to overcome as it seems in the Russian system of education.

I agree that the Russian associations for "grades" seem to be less emotional. Maybe this is because for American students, grades are very much about personal achievment and your own work, whereas we've seen from responses to the situation questions that in Russia, your grade maybe does not reflect your own personal work since cheating is accepted and widespread.

Grades may seem less emotional, but they don't seem less important - after all, one of the Russian students' responses included 'roditeli.' While we might tie our grades to future success, none of us mentioned of our parents' judgment now. Maybe it indicates a short- versus long-term impact of grades. Whether it's true or not, many American students imagine that their GPAs will haunt them forever. I'd guess this isn't the same in Russia.

I agree with Corrie that the American responses display a greater focus on the process that eventually results in grades, while the Russian responses are more concerned with the grades themselves. The Russian responses also focused on the tangibility of their grades - that is, the "dnevniki" themselves, whereas only one American student mentioned report cards.

I also agree that the American responses show a great degree of classification. It seems that we consider grades to just be representative of our success or failure in life. The Russian responses do show that there is an emphasis on grades, but they don't seem to define the overall achievement of students in such a strict sense.

The Russian students wrote more about the process of receiving a grade - class journals, and diaries. The American responses pertained more to letter grades and final results.

Почти все русские студенты написали об результатах, чем об ассоциациях.

Большинство русских студентов написали в своих ассоциациях "пятерка" и предметы, прямо или косвенно связанные с оценками, например дневник, журнал. Американские же студенты больше писали о способах получения оценки.

Наш директор говорил, что оценки не так важны, как знания, которые у тебя есть. Поэтому для нас оценки связаны больше с дневниками и журналом, а не процессом получения.

И я не согласна с тем, что мы не ценим наши результаты, так как они не наши собственные, и мы жульничаем и списываем. Просто в конце концов каждый получит по заслугам. Это личное дело каждого, от списывания знаний не прибавится.

Да, мы как-то более материально отнеслись к этому вопросу...просто для нас, конечно, тоже важен результат (dissappointment и satisfaction), но  его осознаёшь только тогда, когда видишь ОЦЕНКУ в ДНЕВНИКЕ..  

Я соглашусь С Ксюшей Козловой в том, что знания более важны, чем оценки, ведь вторые - это только на бумаге, а первые - у тебя в голове на всю жизнь.

Оценки в школе для меня всегда были очень важны. Если я получала плохую оценку, я обычно расстраивалась. Но успокаивала мысль о том, что родители меня не будут ругать. Но, наверно, такое "самобичевание" дало результаты.

Поэтому, я не совсем согласна с высказываниями некоторых американских студентов с тем, что мы менее эмоционально реагируем на оценки.

Для русских студентов оценки -это результат их работы,труда. По оценкам мы можем судить насколько человек знает тот или иной предмет. Для американских студентво,как я поняла, оценка-это некий процесс.

Американские студенты написали больше о процессе получения оценок, а русские о результатах обучения, т.е. о самих оценках.

It was interesting to see the дневник entries from the Russian students. I think our answers for grades were very similar, we all have these classes of отлично and straight A students in America.

American students seemed a little more likely to associate grades with abstract ideas of work and obligation, whereas the Russian students were focused on the final outcomes.